Open Your Mind: The Promise & The Search
by Plague's Vengeance
Summary: A promise is made and a search will begin...
1. Chapter 1

****DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE STORY: I own NOTHING you may recognize as belonging to the creators of AtlA, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, nor am I a writer for Nickelodeon. This story was written for my sister's and my own entertainment a little over a year ago and has since expanded into one of my most well done pieces on this site. Any OCs that pop up belong to me unless stated otherwise in an author's note. Enjoy!****

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><p><em>'Water...Earth...Fire...Air...<em>

_When I was growing up, the four nations lived together in harmony, separated from one another. Or at least mostly separate from one another. You see, many years before I was even born, Fire Lord Sozin, the leader of the Fire Nation at the time, had begun invading the Earth Kingdom, subtly planting colonies across the land, even after Roku, the Avatar of that era warned him against doing such a thing..._

_I was just a little girl when Roku died. Killed while trying to save his home island from a volcanic eruption. What most people don't know about Roku's death, is Sozin had been there. Roku had been his best friend once, his brother in every way but blood, but Sozin's ambitions and lust for power forced them apart many years before, but even so, Sozin had still gone to help Roku. In the end though, Sozin's ambitions proved stronger than his former friendship with Roku. He left his old friend to die on that island..._

_Many remember that day as the day of Roku's death. But I remember that day for a completely different reason. You see, that was the day a very special boy was born to the Air Nomads. That was the day the new Avatar was reincarnated. The day my little brother came into this world. _

_His name was Aang and he saved the world...But not until a hundred years had passed. A hundred years of war, fear, and rage. All caused by the Fire Nation. Why did a hundred years pass before Aang was able to save the world?_

_Well, that's easy. We ran away and ended up frozen inside an iceberg. A hundred years passed. Our people, the Air Nomads, were destroyed while we were frozen. Sozin used the arrival of a comet to wipe them out, destroying our temples, in his quest to destroy my brother. But he never found him. No one did. Not until a century later when two siblings, Katara and Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe somehow stumbled upon the iceberg that my brother and I were frozen inside of..._

_They told us what had happened during our time in the ice, and, well, let's just say the next year was very eventful for us. Especially Aang, who had to learn all the elements in order to defeat the current Fire Lord, Sozin's grandson, Ozai. _

_Between being chased around the world, first by an angry prince then by his crazy sister, and all other sorts of unpleasant obstacles, Aang managed to learn, if not master, all of the elements. We even gained several new friends along the way. And with the help of those friends, Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai on the day of Sozin's Comet's return, ending the Hundred Year War. _

_Remember that angry prince I mentioned earlier? Yeah, that would be Zuko, Ozai's son and an enemy-turned-ally. He's also my boyfriend. Well, he became the new Fire Lord and he promised to help the Fire Nation regain their honor and, along with Earth King Kuei and Aang, restore balance and harmony to the four nations...Of course, they had a little help along the way...' _

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><p>"Wow," Aang murmured, scrutinizing the large map that hung on the wall to the left of Earth King Kuei's throne. He traced his finger along the little red symbols that represented the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. There were so many. "I hadn't realized that the Fire Nation had built so many colonies in the Earth Kingdom..."<p>

Behind and slightly to Aang's left, Earth King Kuei sighed softly and crossed his arms. "Yes, for the Earth people, the colonies are a constant reminder of the war, like an old scar."

King Kuei seemed to realize what he'd just said and he made a soft, strangled sound, looking over at Zuko apologetically. "O-oh, I...I apologize Lord Zuko I meant nothing personal!"

Xiaodan hummed lightly from her spot beside Zuko, her hands tucked into the billowing sleeves of her long robes. She'd always disliked wearing formal robes. They were comfortable, but heavy and Xiaodan couldn't wait to change into her regular clothes after the meeting with the Earth King was over.

Zuko glanced at her quickly then looked at King Kuei from the corner of his eye, "No, Earth King Kuei. You're right. After all the pain my father has caused, it's my duty to bring healing to the world." He focused on the map and frowned lightly, "I'll remove those colonies. I'll do whatever it takes."

Xiaodan scratched the bridge of her nose and eyed the map, "That's not going to be easy. Some of those have been around since Sozin's reign of terror."

"Yeah, a lot of the people's lives are gonna be disrupted. We need someone to oversee everything, to make sure it all goes peacefully." Aang mused then he grinned and put hand over his chest, "Someone like _me_."

"Really?" Zuko looked at Aang questioningly, "You'd want to do that."

"Yeah," Aang agreed exuberantly, "I'm the Avatar! Making stuff go peacefully is my kind of thing."

"Wonderful!" Earth King Kuei exclaimed. He clapped his hands together and smiled cheerfully at the group of teens who'd helped end the Hundred Year War. "The Avatar's personal involvement will give the entire process an air of hope!"

"Sokka and I can help." Katara said with a smile as she gestured towards her brother, who gave her a disgruntled look.

"Aw man, I was gonna visit Kyoshi Island to see Suki..." He pouted.

Xiaodan smiled and placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder. "And I'll help Zuko settle everyone back in the Fire Nation."

"Yes, it'll be a movement." King Kuei said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "A movement towards harmony. We'll call it...Hmm...We'll call it-"

"The Harmony Restoration Movement!" Sokka suggested.

"Yes! The Harmony Restoration Movement!" Kuei repeated happily. "I like it!"

Behind the Earth King, Toph crossed her eyes and rolled her eyes slightly as she turned towards Sokka. "What's with you and your goofy names for everything?"

Sokka grinned cockily at her, "It's a gift."

"Yeah, Sokka," Xiaodan drawled with a smirk, "We'll call it a gift."

"Hush, you." Sokka narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. Xiaodan laughed and stuck her tongue at him in response.

King Kuei, who had been pacing thoughtfully in front of the map during Xiaodan and Sokka's banter, made a sound of triumph and he whipped around to face the teens, grabbing their attention. "I'll need to announce the Harmony Restoration Movement. It'll be a celebration! A joyous occasion!"

"Indeed." Xiaodan smiled softly at him. "Do you need any help planning the celebration, Your Highness?"

"No, no." Kuei replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I've got it all under control. You can leave if you want."

"Great!" Toph said loudly. She turned towards Xiaodan. "Can we leave now?"

Xiaodan chuckled lightly, "Alright. Let's head over to the Jasmine Dragon."

The others made noises of agreement and followed her out of the throne room, leaving Kuei busily planning the celebration.

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><p>After the group of friends had left the palace, all of them with the exception of Aang had changed into a Earth Kingdom robes then met up with Suki, Mai and her new boyfriend, Tatsuo, the guard she'd met while in prison. Together, the nine teens had headed to the Jasmine Dragon to visit Iroh.<p>

Xiaodan twirled on her toes, dancing through the Jasmine Dragon on light feet as Iroh played his tsungi horn at one of the tables, his eyes he as he let the music flow. Toph sat in the chair to his left with her feet up on the table and her hands tucked behind her head as she tilted the chair back on its back-legs. Xiaodan touched the blind girl's shoulder as she danced past her, twisting around Zuko as he approached the table with a tray of steaming teacups.

Zuko shook his head slightly at her antics, a small smile playing at his lips as he watched her dance for a moment before continuing on his path. He walked around the table his uncle and Toph occupied and passed Aang, who was sitting in front of the table and playing with Momo. On quiet feet, he moved around his uncle and stood in the space between his and Toph's chairs, plucking one of the steaming teacups from the tray he held and setting it down on the table. Iroh paused in his playing to glance up at his nephew, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled.

After flashing a quick smile in response, the new Fire Lord turned away from his uncle as he went back to playing the tsungi horn and walked around Toph's seat, placing a cup of tea in her waiting hand as he walked past. Xiaodan danced around the table and sashayed after him, her bare feet nothing more than a whisper across the hard floor of the tea shop.

Zuko paused for a brief second, turning towards her when she came to stop beside him, her head tilted slightly. He dropped a kiss on her lips and Xiaodan smiled into the kiss, placing her hand gently on his chest. Reluctantly, Zuko pulled away, quickly pecking her lips one more time before heading over to the table where Suki was playing a game of Pai Sho against Mai while Katara and Tatsuo watched.

Smiling happily to herself, Xiaodan shimmied her way over to Aang and dropped down in front of him, scooping Momo up into her arms and cuddling him. Aang grinned over at her, playfully tossing the marble he and Momo had been playing with at her on a current of air. Beaming, Xiaodan waved her hand and sent the marble back at her brother on another current of air. Momo chittered and leapt out of her arms, chasing after the marble. The two Air Nomads laughed and continued to toss the marble back and forth while Momo tried to grab it out of the air.

Katara looked away from the Pai Sho game to glance at the two spirit-siblings, smiling at the scene they presented. Zuko came to a stop beside her and she turned her attention away from Xiaodan and Aang to smile at him in gratitude as she picked a cup from the tray, taking a sip of the warm tea. Zuko returned her smile and handed a cup to Tatsuo, who inclied his head in thanks.

"Zuko, stop moving!" Sokka demanded with a slight whine as the new Fire Lord moved around the table to give Mai and Suki their cups of tea. Sokka waved his calligraphy brush and turned his irritated gaze on Xiaodan, who had pulled Aang to his feet and started dancing with him goofily. "You too, Xia! I'm _trying_ to capture the moment!"

Xiaodan stopped dancing with Aang and stared at him incredulously, one dark brow raised. A bit away from her, Zuko, Katara, Mai, Suki, and Tatsuo all mimicked her expression, fixing their eyes on Sokka and looking at him like he'd grown two extra heads. He scowled at all of them for a moment before looking back down at the roll of parchment spread out on the table he was sitting at, his expression softening.

"I wanted to do a painting." He explained as he moved the calligraphy brush across the parchment. "So we always remember the good times together."

"Aww...That's very thoughtful of you Sokka." Katara praised her brother affectionately, walking over to him. She looked down at the parchment, her happy expression flattening with distaste. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned, "Wait a second! Why did you gave Momo's ears?!"

She pointed at the crude drawing of herself waterbending, floppy 'ears' sticking out of her head. Next to her was an equally crude drawing of what Katara assumed was Toph since the face bore a remarkable resemblance to the drawing of her wanted poster. At her exclamation, Xiaodan, Zuko, Suki, Mai, and Tatsuo wandered over to Sokka's table to check out his painting.

"Those are your hair-loopies." Sokka glanced up at her patronizingly, saying it as if it should have been obvious.

Xiaodan snorted when she caught sight of the painting while Tatsuo coughed into his fist to cover his laughter. Suki, Zuko, and Mai didn't share in their amusement, their expressions mirroring Katara's deadpan one.

"At least you don't look like a boar-q-pine." Zuko grumbled crossly and he waved his hand towards the drawing of himself, the comically long and spiky hair very much resembling a boar-q-pine. "My hair is not that spiky!"

Still sniggering, Xiaodan tapped the drawing of herself standing next to Zuko's. The hair was wild, sticking up like Toph's did when she just woke up and there were squiggly lines all over the face and arms. "The hair isn't too bad, but my tattoos do _not_ look like weird little worms, Sokka."

Beside Xiaodan, Mai tilted her head slightly and regarded the drawing of herself. The face was set in an angry expression and it looked like a man. She deadpanned, "I look like a man."

"But a very cute man." Tatsuo quipped in his deep voice, snickering along with Xiaodan. Mai elbowed him in the stomach in response, stating flatly.

"At least he made you look like a woman, Tatsuo."

The prison guard shrugged easily, unperturbed by the fact that the drawing of him did, in fact, resemble a woman. His hair was longer than what was considered fashionable in the Fire Nation right now and he was certainly on the leaner side, so it didn't bother him that Sokka's drawing looked like a woman.

"Sokka..." Suki began slowly, her tone drier than a the Si Wong Desert, as she scrutinized the drawing of herself holding a fan with one hand and shooting fire from the other. "Why did you pain me firebending?"

Sokka looked up at his unamused girlfriend and smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders."I thought it looked more exciting that way."

"I'd say it looks more ridiculous than exciting." Xiaodan giggled. She bit her lip and smiled innocently when Sokka whipped his head around to frown petulantly at her.

Momo suddenly leapt onto the table, having abandoned Aang in favor of seeing what the rest of his humans were doing. He canted his head and began chittering at the painting, waving his paws around. Sokka whisked his attention away from the still giggling dualbender to scowl at the lemur.

"Oh, you think you can do a better job, Momo?" He demanded, jabbing the bristle-end of the brush at Momo. The lemur scrunched up his nose and chittered at him in response.

"Hey," Iroh protested with playful indignation after he had made his way over to the table, Toph trailing after him. He patted his slimmed down belly. "My belly's not that big anymore. I've really trimmed down."

Still sitting on the floor in front of Iroh and Toph's table, Aang smiled at his friends and sister. He shook his head slightly and got to his feet, making his way out of the tea shop. He patted Appa's nose as he walked past the sky bison lying beside the entrance to the tea shop.

"Well, I think you all look perfect!" Toph exclaimed sarcastically from inside the shop, throwing her arms in the air and grinned snarkily.

Sokka groaned and dropped his head on the table, bumping his forehead against the wood a few times as everyone else laughed at the blind girl's sassy comment.

Aang glanced over his shoulder when he heard his friends laughter, smiling at the scene they presented before looked ahead of him again. He walked up to the railing that framed the small courtyard in front of the Jasmine Dragon.

The sun was setting, backdropping the city in reds, oranges, pinks, and golds. Aang sighed softly in contentment, leaning against the railing and staring out at the beautiful sight.

Back inside the tea shop, Katara glanced around for Aang, her brow furrowing slightly when she didn't see him. She looked over at Xiaodan, who smiled at her and gestured towards the entrance. The waterbender smiled thankfully then hurried out of the Jasmine Dragon.

She slowed just outside of the tea shop, biting her lip as she regarded Aang. Silhoutted by the setting sun, he was actually kind of breathtaking. He really wasn't the goofy, little kid she'd found in the iceberg anymore. He was so much more now. And Katara finally knew what he meant to her.

Katara took a deep breath then continued towards him, stopping beside him in front of the railing. He turned towards her and Katara felt her heart skip a beat, a faint blush warming her cheeks as she placed her hands on his shoulders before embracing him tightly.

Aang closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Katara' waist, holding her close. He opened his eyes and smiled. They separated and stared at each other with soft, affection expressions. Katara bit her lip then leaned forward and kissed him, sighing softly as she slipped her arms around his shoulders and clasped her hands behind his neck.

Aang deepened the kiss as he slid his arms around her waist and held her close, the sun setting behind them.

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><p>Xiaodan peered out of the Jasmine Dragon's entrance, giggling and practically dancing in place as she peeked on her brother and Katara <em>finally <em>figuring out what they meant to each other. "Aww!"

Zuko rolled his eyes as he stood beside her with his arms crossed over his chest. She giggled again and he shook his head in exasperated amusement before uncrossing his arms and grabbing her arm, pulling her away from the doorway. "Okay, that's enough. Let's go, you creepy pest."

"I'm not being creepy!" Xiaodan protested with a pout.

"Uh huh." Zuko gave her look that clearly said he thought she was full of it and that she was being creepy. Xiaodan huffed and stuck her tongue out at him. He flicked her forehead in playful retaliation and she recoiled in surprised indignation. She was about to chew him out when Sokka approached the two.

"Hey have you seen Aang and Katara?" He asked after a moment of looking at them hesitantly. He had a weird feeling of déjà vu as he watched them stare each other down, Zuko with a smug expression and Xiaodan looking irked.

"No-"

"They're out front." Zuko said over Xiaodan, smirking smugly at the irate looked she gave him in response. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the backroom,

"Uh...Thanks." Sokka called to the older teens, shaking his head as they disappeared behind the curtain that separated the kitchen from the main part of the tea shop. He started towards the front of the tea shop, muttering under his breath. "Those two are so weird together..."

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><p>"Hey, guys-Ah!"<p>

Aang and Katara jumped apart like they were on fire, whipping around to stare at Sokka.

"Nothing!" Aang squawked, waving his arms above his head as his face burned with embarrassment. "We're not doing anything out here!"

Katara snarled at her brother and jabbed her finger at him. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Sokka?!"

"First of all, you're supposed to knock before you go _inside_, not before you go _outside_!" Sokka retorted then he stuck his tongue out at her, "And second, as my sister, you really shouldn't be kissing anyone in front of me! It's your sisterly duty to avoid giving me the oogies!"

"'_Oogies'_?! _Aargh!_" Katara practically roared and she threw her hands in the air then pointed at her brother again, "You are so immature sometimes! What about you and Suki?!"

"Don't bring Suki into this!"

Aang sighed as the two began bickering heatedly with each other. He rubbed his forehead then stepped forward, holding his hand outs slightly as he addressed Sokka, "Hey, uh, Sokka? Sokka!"

"Time out." Sokka broke off mid-argument and held his hand in front of his sister's furious face then looked at Aang, "Yeah, Aang?"

"What did you come out here to tell us?" Aang asked.

"Oh right!" Sokka cleared his throat in remembrance. "We're about to head out."

"But the Earth King's celebration doesn't start for a couple more hours." Aang said in confusion.

Sokka shrugged, "I know, but we wanted to take Appa out for a ride first. Y'know, just Team Avatar."

Aang and Katara glanced at each other, the waterbender rolling her shoulders slightly. "Sounds like fun."

"Great!" Sokka exclaimed excitedly, "Toph and Suki are gonna be out in a second, but Xia and Zuko are still in the back."

"I'll got get them." Aang said, heading back into the tea shop to fetch his sister and her boyfriend.

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><p>"Love you too, Xia."<p>

Xiaodan smiled and stepped closer to Zuko, stroking his scarred cheek gently. His eyes closed and he leaned into her touch, exhaling quietly from his nose at her tough. The callouses on her fingers brushed over the scarred skin as she slid her fingers into his hair to the back of his head, gently moving his face closer to hers.

Heart thrumming in his chest, Zuko tilted his head and slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her softly. Their noses bumped and he felt her giggle, his lipsquirking into a small smirk against hers. He squeezed her hips lightly, tickling her slightly and she broke away, leaning back with a laugh. He followed after her, peppering face with kisses as she giggled.

Xiaodan halted his playful attack by catching his lips with hers and kissing him deeply, cupping his jaw. Zuko curled his arms around her waist and held her close, tilting his head slightly to deepen the kiss.

"Hey, Xia, Zuko, we gonna-Whoa!" Aang broke off with a squawk.

Xiaodan and Zuko broke apart, practically jumping away from each other and jerking their heads around to stare at Aang, who gawked back at them, his jaw slack. Xiaodan coughed awkwardly and tried to ignore the way her face was burning with embarrassment, rubbing the back of her neck. She couldn't believe her brother had just caught her making out with Zuko.

Beside her, Zuko was glaring at the ceiling, flushing slightly in embarrassment and mild annoyance. He counted to ten in his head, wrestling his blush under control before looking at Aang with an annoyed frown.

"Did you want something?"

Aang snapped out of his stupor and opened and closed his mouth a few times before making a strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter. He turned away from them, covering his mouth with a hand and continuing to make those sputtering noises, his shoulders shaking with mirth. Zuko and Xiaodan gave him equally unamused looks as he wrestled his laughter under control.

"Aang," Xiaodan scowled at him, her blush fading. She wasn't happy about being interrupted, even if it was embarrassing. "I'm going to hit you."

"Sorry, sorry." Aang choked out through his laughter and he turned back towards the two older teens, grinning sheepishly at them. He suddenly knew how Sokka had felt when he caught him and Katara kissing out front. He was never going to let her live this down. "We're heading out for a ride onAppa before the celebration. You guys coming?"

Xiaodan huffed and muttered something under her breath then grabbed Zuko's hand,dragging him passed her brother and out of the back room. Aang grinned to himself and followed after them. He really was never going to let her live this down.

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><p>"Whoo!" Xiaodan cheered and threw her hands in the air as Appa flew into a sharp dive, her voice blending with Sokka, Suki, and Katara's. Zuko and Toph were less enthused than the other three, the blind girl clutching at the saddle rim with both hands while Zuko held on with one, his other arm wrapped around Xiaodan's waist.<p>

The group of friends had been flying around on Appa for several hours, intermittently soaring above Ba Sing Se and flying high into the clouds then diving back down again.

Aang laughed loudly from Appa's head as the sky bison leveled out, "Let's go again!"

"Wait, guys!" Suki cried out, leaning against her side of the saddle and pointing at the night sky as the fireworks began erupting across the inky blackness. "The fireworks are starting!"

"Wow!" Xiaodan gasped, watching with wide eyes as the fireworks burst in multi-colored sparks. "It's so beautiful."

"The view is amazing." Katara said from her spot at the front of the saddle. She shifted to her knees and heldonto the front of the saddle, leaning forward slightly as more fireworks illuminated the sky.

"It is. Thanks buddy." Aang patted Appa's head fondly, the sky bison rumbling loudly in response. Below, the loud cheering of the crowds signalled that Kuei had made his announcement. Aang twisted around in his seat to look at his friends. "Sounds like the Earth King just announced the Harmony Restoration Movement."

Xiaodan smiled happily and settled back against Zuko's chest, resting her head against his shoulder and placing her hands on his arm thatwas wrapped around her waist. She tilted her head back slightly to look at him, her brow furrowing slightly at the somber expression on his face, his eyes distant. She touched his cheek, grabbing his attention.

"You alright?" she asked softly. He smiled at her, but it seemed forced.

"I'm fine

Xiaodan frowned a little more and touched his cheek, staring into his eyes searchingly. Something was wrong, she could tell, but she wouldn't push. At least not at the moment while they were surrounded by their friends. She would let it go for now. "Okay."

Zuko touched the hand on his cheek, smiling a little more genuinely at her. He knew she didn't believe him, but she wasn't pushing the matter, and he was grateful for that. That didn't mean he was off the hook of course, and Zuko was completely aware of that fact. His girlfriend was nothing if not an overbearing mother-hen at times.

More fireworks exploded around them and Toph grimaced, her sensitive ears ringing painfully. She shifted in her seat and turned towards Sokka, who had been laughing nearly as loudly as the fireworks. "You want to know what fireworks are like for me?"

"Sure." Sokka agreed without thinking and he turned towards the blind girl.

"Close your eyes."

"Okay."

Toph leaned forward and shouted at the top of her lungs right by his ear, "_**BOOM!**_"

"_Ouch!_" Sokka screeched like a little girl and fell back, clutching at his throbbing, ringing ears. Suki muffled a giggle behind her hand and shuffled over to his side.

"Oh Toph," Katara laughed as she shuffled over to the younger girl and threw her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "Don't be such agrump! You're out with friends on a beautiful night, celebrating the fact that we saved the world!"

"True..." Toph grumbled, still feeling nonplussed as the fireworks continued to explode.

Xiaodan laughed lightly and slipped out of Zuko's arms, crawling towards Toph and Katara to kneel in front of them. "Here little sister, this might help a bit." She untied the sash around her waist and carefully tied it around Toph's head like headband, the thick fabric muffling the loud fireworks.

Toph sighed blissfully as the loud noises dulled slightly then she reached out towards Xiaodan. The dualbender caught the younger girl's hand, their fingers tangling together and Toph smiled. "Thanks, Xia. It _is_ better."

Xiaodan grinned and let got of Toph's hand, throwing her arms around both her and Katara and hugging them tightly to her. Toph leaned against her and Katara, enjoying the fireworks now that they weren't assaulting her sensitive ears to so much anymore.

Aang, having turned around to watch his friends after Toph's initial shout, chuckled and looked over at Zuko, catching sight of the dour expression on the older boy's face. Well, Aang couldn't have that. It was a time of celebration and happiness, his friend should be smiling.

"C'mon! You too, your new majesty Fire Lord Zuko, sir!" Aang chirped, playfully tugging his cheeks up into a wide grin. Zuko glanced over at him blankly before looking back at Xiaodan as she laughed with Katara and Toph. Aang let his mouth go and frowned slightly worry. "Zuko...?"

Zuko looked at Xiaodan, making sure she was preoccupied then turned his upper body to look at Aang with a serious expression, "I visited my father in prison the other day..." He hesitated, swallowing thickly, before forging on. "I've been meaning to ask you for a favor, Aang."

"Um..." Aang faltered, disconcerted at the expression on Zuko's face. He was used to his older friend looking serious, but right now he looked downright grim. He continued a little warily, "Sure. Anything."

"If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to..." Zuko took a deep breath, settling himself with what he was about to ask his friend. He looked quickly back at Xiaodan then focused on Aang, face set with determination. "I want you to _end_ me."

Aang recoiled with a squawked, "What?!" He couldn't believe what his friend was asking of him. His eyes flickered towards Xiaodan, who had stopped talking with Toph and Katara and was now staring at him and Zuko in horrified disbelief along with Katara. Hey had heard what Zuko had just asked him to do.

"Even now, after everything that's happened, my family's legacy is still part of me. That's why it's my duty to heal the scars that the Fire Nation has left on the world. But the Fire Lord's throne comes with a lot of pressures. And if I'm honest with myself, I need a safety net. " Zuko explained grimly, unaware of Xiaodan's eyes on his back.

What he was asking his friend was hard, but he didn't have a choice. He had always had trouble doing the right thing, he knew that better than anyone, and he wanted his friends to be prepared to do whatever it took just in case he turned into his father. He owed it to the world after everything his family had done to it. "The world needs a safety. That's what I need you to be, Aang. The safety net."

Xiaodan had had just about enough of that. She stood up and made her way across the saddle to her boyfriend, dropping to her knees beside him and grabbing shoulders to turn him towards her. "Don't talk like that, Zuko. You are _not_ your father. You have never, _ever_ been like your father."

He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off with a hard look, "No, even at your worst, you were still a better person than he ever was." She cupped his face and her expression became pleading, "_Please, _Zuko_..._"

Zuko stared into her eyes for several moments then looked away, placing his hands atop hers and moving them from his face. He focused on Aang, who was staring at him with a pleading expression that mirrored his sister's. "I can't take that risk. If something happens, you have to end me, Aang."

"You're my friend, Zuko!" Aang shook his head in refusal, "How can you expect me to-"

"As your friend, I'm _asking_ you." Zuko cut him off firmly. "If you ever see me go bad, end me. Promise me, Aang."

Aang looked away from Zuko intense gaze and at his sister. Xiaodan stared back at him helplessly, her hands clasped together and pressed to her mouth as her ember-colored eyes glistened with tears. He looked towards Katara and she stared back at him, shaking her head slightly. Aang swallowed thickly and bit his lip, looking down at his lap.

"Fine..." He whispered. "I promise."

Zuko exhaled a shuddering breath, looking away from his girlfriend and friends. Xiaodan stared at the back of his head for a moment then wrapped her arms around herself and bowed her head. The fireworks continued to explode around them, but the cheerful atmosphere had disappeared, replaced by tension.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: And here it is! The first part of Open Your Mind's indirect, mostly non-canon sequel! I decided to do the comics, so this first chapter takes place during the pages 1-13. The next couple of chapters will be completely non-canon, since after page 13 of the Promise, there's a one year time skip and I'm gonna be writing what happened with Zuko and Xia (and to a lesser extent the rest of the GAang) in those chapters. Sadly, I doubt the chapters will be as long as we're all use to, but I'll try to keep them in the 5k+ range. Anyhooties, don't forget to send me some prompts and stuff on The Official Xiabug Ship on tumblr! <strong>

**Hope y'all enjoyed this first chapter! **


	2. Temporary Hiatus Note: Fixed

Hey guys, I know a hiatus is really not what y'all want right now for _The Possibilities_, but unfortunately that's what's gonna happen. My computer has been acting up and I've spent the time since the first chapter post working on trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with it and trying to fix it. I'm hoping to call the manufacturer sometime after Christmas and get them to send me something to get Herbert (my laptop) back in fighting shape.

Computer issues are the main reason for the hiatus, but there is a secondary reason too. Honestly, I've just not been really feeling _The Possibilities. _I'm just not really fond of what I was trying to do starting off with the comics, so I've decided to take down _The Possibilities_ for the time being and just turn the comics into their own spin-off, tentatively titled _Open Your Mind: The Promise and Search. _**(Edit-**Ignore the bit about taking the story down, I just changed the title and the summary)_  
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Never fear though, I **_will_ **most definitely be uploading a newer and improved version of _The Possibilities, _which is really just gonna be a series of one(or more)-shots that take place in the 70 year time gap between AtLA and LoK. It won't necessarily be in chronological order, meaning one chapter might take place when the GAang plus Xia are in their twenties and the next one might take place only a year after Aang defeated Sozin. I'm hoping to have several chapter outlines and drafts ready to be written up and posted by the time I also fix my computer. **(Edit-** I'm hoping, since Herbert is doing a bit better, to have at least the first chapter of the revised _Possibilities_ up either on Christmas day or the day after).

Now in regards to the LoK sequel, _Open Your Heart_, that particular story will be put on indefinite hiatus for the time being for, once again, two reasons. The main reason is because I need to actually catch up on what's happened in the last book (the last episode I watched was the 7th one I think). The second reason is, I'm honestly a little nervous about posting _anything_ that involves Legend of Korra right now. Just from what I've seen on tumblr alone, it's become obvious that the LoK fandom is rather, I suppose _toxic _would be the best word to use, at the moment and I really don't feel comfortable posting anything (on here or tumblr or anywhere really for that matter) that's related to Legend of Korra.

I'm not saying that the LoK sequel won't happen, because I've become extremely attached to all the OCs I specifically created for the sequel, especially my main OFC Xiaolian, and _not_ writing a her story with the Korra-gang would break my heart. But, again with all the unhappiness and stuff surrounding the fandom right now, that particular story will have to wait, and hopefully not for too long.

Thank you everyone for supporting the OYM universe,

Plague


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